- April 18, 2024
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The FPC Lady Bulldogs won their fourth consecutive district championship.
Madison Hald heads the ball to her teammate.
Amanda Raleigh roars in celebration after scoring the game-winning goal. Photos by Jeff Dawsey
Bella Giuliano celebrates her best friend's, Madison Hald, goal.
Early on, Flagler Palm Coast found themselves in a bit of déjà vu against its district rival, Spruce Creek, before taking the Hawks down 2-1 to win its eighth district championship, fourth straight.
“It’s wasn’t pretty soccer, but to win showed a lot of character,” coach Pete Hald said. “We didn’t give up a second goal, which I was afraid of, but I knew we were going to be in trouble, if it was going to be a low-scoring game.”
Similar to their last-year district title match against Creek, FPC gave up a goal three minutes into the match, but Madison Hald’s used a corner kick to outsmart the goalkeeper, spinning it right into the net, which tied the game at halftime.
“At halftime, I asked them which team was coming out tonight,” Hald added. “Is it going to be the one that crushed Seabreeze and DeLand, or will it be the one that came out against Matanzas?”
Judging by the amount of touches and possession, the Lady Dawgs returned to the pitch as the team that gave up three second-half goals to Matanzas, although they were fortunate not to allow more goals to the Lady Hawks. Goalkeeper Malia Dalzell made a couple of goal-saving blocks that kept FPC alive, until the end of regulation.
With neither team able to put another shot in the net, an extra 10 minutes were added to the game clock, but the Lady Dawgs only needed five. Finding the ball off a blocked attempt, senior Amanda Raleigh, who was also the district champion hero her freshman year, seized the ball near the box and put the nail in the coffin.
“It feels amazing,” Raleigh said. “This has been a good season with a lot of ups and lows, but we’ve always come together and played as a team.”
This game was the Bulldogs’ 14th consecutive district final, which is tough for any high school sports team to rival.
“Nobody around here can say that,” Hald said. “We’re trying to win a trophy every year.”
FPC will host its first regional game this upcoming Thursday against a district runner-up.
